Shavethewhales

This is especially unfortunate. This place really had an amazing feel to it, full of cute and charming little touches and amusements. It was really unique. I'll probably miss this place more than HRP.

Impressed and amazed by DW as usual. I just wish SDC would get their next coaster already so we could do this. How many of you were there for the whole event?

It looks like it has a really steep drop for that time period of wooden coasters. Damn, if only they could re-profile it and stick some Millenium Flyers on there, then it may be a strong contender for the top 20 or so.

Most kids just don't realize the legal responsibilities that come with being any kind of representative of the park, even a stated "unofficial" one. Most operators will be quite happy to see a fan site start up around their attraction, but once your site becomes prominent and you post erroneous information like incorrect prices, you're harming the park's operational directly. It falls squarely under the definition of legal slander. I've run a semi-popular park fansite now for some time and my advice to all of you similar webmasters is this: Always keep a positive tone - disappointment can be expressed, but you simply must watch yourself should you actually harm the park's reputation. Remember that damage to reputation is grounds for legal action. Always point out the sunny side of whatever situation. Don't even try to keep up with important data, such as park hours and prices. They change often, and having erroneous info can lead to big issues, as we've just seen. Stick to ride reviews and such. Don't allow forum members to run the park down too far. You are responsible for what goes on in your forum. Of course you want free speech, but its your responsibility to make sure the park's reputation isn't trashed and that erroneous information isn't passed off as official info. That's actually all it takes. It's not hard, just use some common sense and be positive!

^Once the leaves and the undergrowth grow back, you won't even be able to see this thing.

You never know man, with the way they construct these things and the giant work force they could round up (They're sort of close to Mexico, right? ) I wouldn't doubt they're ability to throw this up over a weekend. Man, that would actually be an awesome publicity stunt/tv show... In all seriousness, the metal bases for the bents are all in place, so once they start placing bents, the low curves will fly up. They'll probably get half the ride set up in the first couple of weeks of bent placing or less. They've been really quick on Prowler, and they aren't even using a single solid pad.

What's the deal with those supports? I've never seen them extend a straight bar up from an A-frame like that. It seems to defeat the purpose - but I'm not exactly an engineer here. Looks like it's shaping up to be a wild ride. I passed this off a long time ago as a 'meh' ride from the artwork, but the reality is much more convoluted than they led us to believe. This might actually crack the top twenty next year just because of the shear number of people who will ride it and be impressed by the air and forces they weren't expecting.

I like the sounds of this. To me, AT has never bested Nemesis. They haven't come even close. Air, Rita, and Oblivion are fun in their own ways, but they lack the pure awesomeness and originality that went into Nemesis. I'm looking forward to hearing the backstory for this ride. It sounds like they'll put as much energy into the atmosphere of the ride as the ride itself - which is truly what separates the epic rides from the plain old coasters.

Hard to believe Doppelmayr could withstand a hit this big, they must have gotten Walabi to take most of the cost. I guess in the end the park is the only one that looses. Doppelmayr probably won't build anymore coasters, but they got some publicity for their line of ski resort products. Walabi ends up taking the hit for the cost of the ride plus the years of opportunity cost wasted. I'm glad to see the back of Doppelmayr, I'm just glad no one else fell for their product. I know SDC was heavily considering one of these.

How thick are the hoodies? Or, better put, how warm are they? I've been looking for a replacement for my crappy paper-thin walmart hoodie.

Heck, it didn't even make it through ONE season. And it's not even the only new park from the last two years to not make it through one season. After WWW failed I thought the industry at least had HRP to look forward to, but then it failed, and pretty much all the other new park concepts have been shut down. Hell, even CC more or less died. Tough times... The economy may not be the largest factor contributing to HRP's demise, but it's hard to ignore it when you look at how badly the rest of the industry is doing right now. Luckily it looks like the nation's bounce back is beginning... maybe.

Damn snow, progress has screeched to a halt over the last few days. The trains are almost done though -> http://www.greatcoastersinterns.com/photos.php Simple designs, but that's OK. The lead cars should be cool.

The layout for the invert is really good, but how are those glass shields going to work? The theme is what really impresses me; I love the look of the star flyer.

It's really unfortunate that the project turned out like this. It was such a good idea, but I'm sure it has become a massive investment due to the sheer number of man hours required to test and debug it. At this rate they could have built a monster woodie by hand and it would be cheaper (not that that would be better). I just hope they make some money after all this.

An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City is a hands-down amazing spectacle. 4 Million lights are used to illuminate the city, along with a large light show on the main square and a neat little parade that winds through the narrow corridors of the park. There's a few more photos Here -> http://sdcfans.com/gallery.php?g=15 on SDCFans if you need more SDC goodness. OTC nights are a great time to marathon the coasters... if they're open. Wildfire and PK are too wussy to stay open if it drops below 40, but TNT is always there to plow through the night. SDC is really hidden within the woods. You slowly start to notice the lights as it gets darker. Sigh... just another year now... The skillet is back! ... and at night The tree in daylight... The big man himself Woot, lights.

Montezooma's is pure comic genius. It's a perfect example of what these contests are all about. Good job to everyone though.

Another vote for TPR here. The last 3 years have been a blast. Some great contenders are up for 'Favorite New Site of 2008' as well. One of my sites was nominated, but ThemeParkNewsDirect has really added more to the community, so I'm kind of rooting for them.

Possibly PARC, as they've suddenly taken to focusing on FEC's, though I doubt they would have put in a bid for HRP with that in mind. This pretty much marks everyone off the list of potential buyers. I guess this was probably the worst year for them to go bust, there's simply no one to come in and fix it. Oh well, discount B&M on the market! If only SDC or DW had some flat land for it...

Seeing the thing in action really gives you a lot more appreciation for how much actual movement there is as the car swings through the curves. Looks a lot better than I originally thought.

So apparently one of the bidders is planning on selling off the assets. What's the benefit of that? Isn't it obviously more profitable to find a way to make the park work, and run it for awhile? I mean, do they think they'll get more than what they pay for the place in selling off the rides/land?

I don't know about a straight-out launch, but I think it would be more than awesome if they built a wooden coaster that, like Maverick, slows to a stop midcourse inside of a tunnel, then launches out without warning. Who would see that coming?

So have they not progressed at all on this thing? I'm really surprised that more than a week has passed without any news of the site. Hasn't concrete been poured yet?

Very nicely done. Gets me pumped for SDC's version... if it ever gets around to being built.

Well I for one am sad about it leaving (or at least I will be until I hear what's replacing it). I actually tried really hard to get this credit a few years ago, but the day I chose to go to AT was just horrendous and I was lucky to get one go on Nemesis and Oblivion each as well as one go each on a couple of other rides. Crappiest theme park experience ever. I've just got to make it back there soon before they rip out those awesome gardens for whatever wooden monstrosity they're planning - and then again after .

I'm going to go ahead and bet that PARC, if anyone, picks this one up. They're the only guys out there who could be in any sort of potential position to spend $35 million and take on another parks. Cedar Fair, Herschend, GAFP, and of course, SF are all obviously loaded down, so who else is there? Then again, there's always the possibility of an independent start up taking over the park. $35 million wouldn't be impossible for the right people, but they'd also have to know how to run the damn thing...